The present invention relates generally to the field of cutting devices. More particularly, the invention relates to the field of rotary blades used to cut through solid or semi-solid material contained in a non-cylindrical vessel.
Preparation of certain foods and beverages can involve blending, whipping, stirring, etc. the food or beverage using a rotary blade or mixer which is lowered into a container holding the food or beverage.
In Applicant""s Published International Application No. PCT/US97/08250 entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKING FROZEN DRINKS, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, a method for making frozen drinks is described. The application describes an apparatus which allows milkshakes and other frozen drinks to be quickly made by breaking up pre-frozen blocks of ingredients into small frozen particles using a rotating blade, and blending them with an added liquid also using the rotating blade. The ingredients to be frozen into frozen blocks are pre-mixed in liquid form, placed into serving cups which are the same serving cups in which the finished milkshake or frozen drinks are to be served, and then frozen into blocks conforming to the insides of the serving cups and stored.
According to the disclosure, when a milkshake or other frozen drink is to be made, a serving cup containing the frozen block is positioned in a cup holder which forms a part of the frozen drink machine. A rotating blade is lowered into the cup and bores through the frozen substance in the cup, grinding it into small frozen particles. As the blade moves towards the bottom interior of the cup, milk, water, or another liquid is added to the cup and is blended into the frozen substance by the rotating blade
Beverage containers (also referred to herein as cups) of the type used in connection with the described frozen drink making process are often tapered or non-cylindrical in design. In many cases, the tops of the containers are wider than the bottoms of the containers, allowing the containers to be nested with one another for compact storage and transport.
Because the interior of a tapered cup is narrower at the bottom than it is at the top, a rotary blade used to bore through material in the cup must have a small enough diameter to fit into the bottom interior of the cup. As a result, the blade""s diameter is significantly smaller than the diameter of the upper portions of the cup interior and thus does not reach solid material along the cup""s sidewalls as it rotates within the cup. It is thus desirable to provide a boring device which will allow material in a tapered cup to be bored out to the cup""s sidewalls, despite the tapered design of the cup.
The present invention is a cutting device for use in cutting through material in a container. The cutting device includes a rotatable shaft and a cutting element coupled to the shaft. The cutting element is laterally extendable and retractable relative to the shaft so as to accommodate tapered or non-cylindrical cups, as well as to allow use of the cutting elements in cups having different diameters.